In computer networking, a wireless access device (WAP) is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired or wireless network using a wireless communication protocol, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The wireless access device typically connects to or is implemented as a component of a muter connected to a wired external network, such as a local network or the Internet. A wireless access device connected to or implemented with a router is referred to as a WiFi router. A network device connected to an external network is referred to as a “gateway,” while a wireless access device connected to an external network may be referred to as a “gateway wireless access device” or a “gateway.” So a “gateway” device referenced in this document can have a wireless interface or have no wireless interface, but it is a device connecting the internal network and the external network.
Wireless access devices utilize a wireless connection between the wireless device and the wireless access device to transfer data. The area in which a wireless connection between the wireless device and the wireless access device can be established and maintained is the wireless coverage area or simply the “coverage area.” HOW ever, even within the coverage area, the speed at which the data is transferred is dependent on the quality of the wireless connection. A high quality wireless connection relies on multiple different wireless connection quality factors. For example, the quality of a wireless connection may be determined based on the signal strength that exists between the wireless access device and the wireless device. Additionally, the quality of a wireless connection may depend upon communication capability of the devices, determined by the wireless technology implemented on each device. For example, different devices implement different communication protocols, have different processing power, have different antenna configurations, etc. Users and provider of wireless access device continuously strive to maximize the quality of their wireless connection, particularly when using data intensive applications such as video streaming, telephony applications, etc.
Often, the area where a user wishes to use his or her wireless device is larger than the area providing a high quality wireless connection to the wireless access device. For example, the signal strength decreases based on the distance between the wireless access device and the wireless device. Additionally, certain areas that would otherwise receive a high quality wireless connection are subject to interference that reduces the quality of the wireless connection. Accordingly, users may add additional wireless access devices to their network, such as a WiFi extender, to increase the area where the user can maintain a high quality wireless connection.
WiFi extenders typically are similar to wireless access devices, but do not include an integral router connected to the external network. Instead, WiFi extenders typically rely on wired or wireless connections to the WiFi router to connect to the external network. The coverage area in which a user can connect to at least one wireless access device is considered the “extended network environment.” A network including both a gateway wireless access device and one or more extender wireless access devices is referred to as an “extended network.”
A WiFi extender is a wireless access device for wireless devices to connect to a network. Additionally, the WiFi extender acts as a wireless device to connect to another wireless access device in order to connect to a network. The “another wireless access device” may also be referred to as an “upstream wireless access device”. Usually, a WiFi extender uses a single radio frequency device component to connect to both the wireless devices and the upstream wireless access device. Further, in order to avoid had performance, the radio frequency device has to work in the same frequency to connect to the wireless devices as well as to connect to the upstream wireless access device. In such a usage, when a wireless device transmits or receives data from the upstream wireless access device, the transmission between the upstream wireless access device and the WiFi extender and the transmission between the WiFi extender and the wireless device share the same frequency. Assuming there is no other usage on this frequency, the two transmissions must divide the time of using the frequency and so the end to end throughput is not as high as the wireless device can see from its connection to the WiFi extender. For example, if the speed between the wireless device and the WiFi extender and between the WiFi extender and the upstream wireless access device are the same like 100 mbps, then the speed for transmitting data between the wireless device and the upstream wireless access device is cut in half, like to become around 50 mbps.
Typically, wireless devices establish a connection with a single wireless access device in an extended network based on a determination of which wireless access device will provide the highest quality wireless connection. The single wireless access device having a wireless connection to the wireless device is referred to herein as a “current wireless access device.” Once established, this wireless connection is maintained between the wireless access device and the wireless device until the connection is lost or degrades below a threshold quality level. The connection may be lost or degraded when the wireless device moves out of range of the wireless access device, moves to a location where there is interference, etc. Thereafter, the wireless device will attempt to establish a new wireless connection; again with whichever wireless access device will provide the highest quality wireless connection.
However, wireless devices often are transported to various areas within a coverage area covered by multiple wireless access devices without ever losing their connection to their current wireless access device. Because of variations in the quality of the wireless connection within the coverage area, users may not always be connected to the wireless access device that will provide the highest quality wireless connection. For example, a wireless device user connected to a first wireless access device may move to location that is remote from that wireless access device (although still maintaining a wireless connection), but is very close to a second wireless access device (that would provide a higher quality wireless connection at the new location). As a result, the wireless device will receive a signal that is weaker than optimal.
In a home network, there is a router or gateway that connects the internal network, the home network, and the external network, the Internet. For a home network where there is more than one wireless access device for a wireless device to reach the gateway or the external network, almost no wireless device knows which wireless access device can give it better connection to the network. This is because a wireless device does not know which access device has a better connection to the router/gateway and the interpretation of speed for different access devices could be different. For example, when a client sees one connection of 10 mbps from one access device and one connection of 7 mbps from another access device. If the 10 mbps connection is from a gateway, then it is a better connection than the other. If the 10 mbps connection is from an extender, as elaborated previously, the connection speed from the wireless device to the gateway (the upstream access device) could be just 5 mbps, and so the 7 mbps direct connection to the gateway is actually the better connection. In a general way, a home network has a tree topology. The root is the router/gateway, the nodes are extenders, and the leaves are wireless devices or wired devices. The whole tree is connected to the Internet through the router/gateway at the root. There could be multiple extenders connecting to the router/gateway directly and there could be extenders connecting to an upstream extender and then connecting to the router/gateway indirectly. For a wireless device, the connection quality provided by each node in the tree, including the root if it is a gateway wireless access device, is determined by not only the node's signal strength to the device, the wireless capability of the node . . . but also the connection quality between the node and the root.
What is needed is a system and method for configuring wireless connections in an extended network environment that optimizes connection quality to a wireless device in the coverage area. What is further needed is such a system and method configured to continuously monitor wireless connections between a wireless device and a plurality of wireless access devices to optimize the quality of a wireless connection to the wireless device.